They collapsed together, skin slicked with sweat, her face buried in his neck. Long seconds passed and she didn’t move. He knew she was feeling shy, or embarrassed. Damn, he was going to have to fix that. He rolled her to her back on the couch and leaned over her. “I don’t know if three condoms are going to be enough. We might need a store run because if you think I even came close to getting enough of you, you’re wrong. But for now, I’m going to get rid of this one.” He snatched his shirt from the floor. “And because I know you are about to scramble to get dressed, put my shirt on. It’s less effort for me to take off of you later.” He leaned in and kissed her. “And that was an order you won’t get an apology for.”

***

Lauren awoke naked, on the floor with a comforter underneath her and a heavy arm over her back. She inhaled the spicy male scent of Royce and smiled to herself. She was on her stomach, and she was pretty sure that was because Royce had refused to let her get dressed, so he’d trapped her there.

You need to be as comfortable with you being na**d as I am, he’d told her.

I’m very comfortable with you being naked, she’d replied.

Her gaze fixed on the red glow of a fire not tended for a good while. The darkness of the room was lightening, as if the sun was replacing the moon. And unfortunately, as much as she wanted to savor this moment, Mother Nature called.

She tried to inch out from under Royce’s arm.

Royce pulled her back against him, rolling them both to their sides. “We aren’t ready to get up.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Close your eyes and you’ll forget.”

She laughed. “No. No. That’s not going to happen.”

“You're sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, damn,” he said. “I guess I have to let you up then.” He released her and she crawled and grabbed his shirt. He smacked her on the backside and she yelped, drawing a low, sexy chuckle from him.

Lauren stumbled groggily to the bedroom, surprised to see the clock read ten in the morning, until she heard a rumble of thunder. It was still storming. She went to the bathroom and her phone beeped in her purse. Five missed calls from Julie. It rang again in her hand. Lauren shoved down the toilet seat and sat down.

“Yes, my diva darlin’,” she said. “I am alive.”

“You can’t not answer your phone when you have this big case going on and all kinds of public anger. I worry about you.”

“Royce is here. I’m fine.”

“Rewind. What? He’s still there?”

Lauren laughed. “Pretty sure the answer is ‘yes’.”

“Honey, you know how to make up for lost time and bad exes. I so will not keep you from your play toy but I expect gossip and lots of it. Lunch. We are so going to lunch on Monday.”

“Lunch.”

They ended the call and Lauren sat there a moment, thinking about how easily she’d said ‘Royce is here. I’m fine.’ The truth was she was better than fine. Or maybe she wasn’t. She pushed to her feet and stared at herself in the mirror.

“Don’t fall for him,” she murmured. “You can’t fall for him.” She was vulnerable right now, recovering from the past, and perhaps in danger, and she knew it. She was turning Royce into her knight in shining armor, and she knew all too well, that was a fairy tale that didn’t exist. She inhaled and let it out. Royce was all man, all sex, and hard masculine beauty. He made her feel sexy and empowered. This had to be about sex and nothing else, or she’d get hurt. She pushed off the sink and nodded, heading towards the living room with one thing on her mind. She was going to have more sex. No. She was going to f**k.

***

Royce was sitting on the couch, watching the news when Lauren returned, stepping in front of him and pulling his shirt over her head. His mouth went dry and his c**k stood at attention. “I should remind you we’re out of condoms.”

“We’ll improvise.”

She went to her knees and wrapped his c**k with her hand. He thickened and pulsed in her palm. She licked the head. “Any complaints so far?”

“You can lick me, suck me, pretty much do whatever you want to me, sweetheart. I’m all yours.”

Her gaze met his, a fearless look in her eyes he’d not seen before, that he registered as trouble. Something was going on in her head, and he had to find out what. But she sucked his head into her mouth and he forgot exactly what the problem was. Suddenly, there was only the suction of her mouth on his cock, the drag of her tongue around him, up and down. Her long silky hair teasing his stomach and thighs. The edge of near orgasm, and the final, deep draw of her mouth that took his release from him.

The instant he was off the high of one of the best damn blow jobs of his life, he reached for her and pressed her down onto the couch, settling on top of her.

“What was that?”

“I think they call it”

“I know what they call it. I want to know what is going on in your mind right now. Why you came out of the bathroom a woman on a mission to give me a blow job.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You damn sure do.”

“No, I don’t.”

He slid down her body, and lifted her leg to his shoulder. “Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to take you to the edge of orgasm over and over until you tell me what just happened in that bathroom.” He suckled her cl*t into his mouth.